Statoil confirms new reserves in North Sea

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STAVANGER, Norway, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The latest appraisal well in the Johan Sverdrup discovery off the southern Norwegian coast proved new hydrocarbon volumes, said Statoil.

Statoil last year announced one of the largest oil finds on the Norwegian continental shelf at the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea. The company estimated there were 900 million-1.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent there, twice the previous estimate. A 114-foot oil column was discovered in the area in August.

Gro Haatvedt, a vice president of Norwegian exploration for Statoil, said the company found oil during its latest discovery efforts. Statoil reported to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate that appraisal well 16/2-15 encountered a 98-foot gross column of oil, of which about 65 feet was "of very good reservoir quality."

Statoil expects to maintain a production capacity from the Norwegian continental shelf of around 600,000 barrels of oil per day for the rest of the decade. Haatvedt said Statoil aims to drill as many as three new wells in the license area this year.